I had something to say earlier today, but now I can't remember, so here's a whole lot of nothing............................................................................................................................................
You may now return to your regularly schedule program. =0)
eryn

ONE MONTH TO GO!!!

I went to see my doctor yesterday about my leg, and he seemed to think it was just normal and that I should eat more bananas, drink milk, and take 2 Aleve before I run! That is not very helpful. He did take some blood to check my potassium levels, but he "suspects they are normal." So I have diagnosed myself, and determined that the root of the problem is really tight muscles that have caused a knot to form in my left leg and that is where the "tearing" sensation is coming from. I can feel it. I stayed off my feet (as much as I could) until yesterday and that seemed to alleviate the sensation. However, when I went to practice last night I did feel it again briefly as we were walking around the track. Running the bleachers didn't bother it ~ different muscles I suppose. Today though, as I walk/ran it came back in full force. I decided to run through it and see if it would loosen up, but the tighter my ankles got the worse it was, so I stopped trying to "push through" and cut my run short. My dog was okay with that, since he hasn't had to run for the last week and a half. He seemed a bit tired and overheated. Poor guy. It was a bit warmer than it has been.
I came home and put the heating pad on the muscle to try and relax it away, which helped, but it's still there. I am thinking of getting a massage to get those muscles loose again. In the meantime, I am massaging the area ~ trying to work out that knot. OY!! Pray for me. Ask the Lord to send an angel during the night to massage those muscles and unkink that knot. That would be nice, since I really don't have the extra cash to spend on a massage (since I just gave away $30 to have someone tell me "it's normal, and there's nothing I can do really." I'm a little frustrated by that. I'm also annoyed at myself because I think of all these questions to ask AFTER I leave his office! Double OY!!! I'm so glad that God knows all of this, and is working it out for me. I would hate to quit now because of some little hindrance like this.
Well, it's time to get ready for work again.
Lord, let your Spirit reside here. May I be attentive to Your comings and goings and may I empty myself of me so that I can be filled with You in order to do the work that You have set out for me to do this day.
Love you God,
Eryn

Running Journal ~ week 16 (I think)

Well, it's been a while since I have written on here.

Training is going well, though I have had a bit of a set back this week. Last week as I was rejuvenating in Cannon Beach I did something to my lower legs, especially the left one, so now my coach tells me I have to go see a physical therapist to make sure I didn't tear something. I thought it was just really tight muscle cramps, but sometimes when I walk it feels like something is ripping inside, so I agree with her that I should see someone. I put heat on it this morning and that seemed to release the knot a bit, but it's still there some and that tearing sensation is not a good sign. Other than that, I completed my longest run before the race last Friday. Gloria and I ran 3 miles up the coast (well she walked rapidly and I walked and ran by her), then decided my legs were bothering me to much on the city streets, so we cut down to the beach and I took my shoes off (suspected source of the problem) and ran back those 3 miles (she actually got to run then). She left me about the second mile for a bathroom break, and I got back to the conference center with 10 minutes left to eat breakfast before they started packing stuff up. Shweh! Later that day God graced us with clear skies, so we headed up to Crescent Beach for one more attempt to see the beauty there and take pictures. The first time we went it was GORGEOUS!! Then we took Erik with us the next morning and it was socked in with clouds. The only reason we didn't turn around and go back the way we came was that we knew we could walk around the rocks to get back to the conference center, but we couldn't SEE where we were going at all. We just knew we had to go "that way"! The cool part was there were footprints in the sand leading the way toward our destination, even though we couldn't see the rocks until we were almost to them. Is that a spiritual lesson or what!?! God says "follow Me," and we say, "but God I can't see where we are going", and he says "that's okay...I KNOW which way to go, just follow me, and if you lose sight of me follow my footsteps." I love those lessons!

Anyway, It's a mile and a 1/2 up (and down) to the beach and we went back the way we came that day because the tide was in too far to go around the rocks, plus the mile or so we walked and ran up and down the beach before we left. So all together I got in the 10 miles I was supposed to do that week! Wow! I could run on the beach all day. I love the ocean!

So now since I probably did too much while I was there, I am convalescing with ice on the muscle that is giving me trouble and trying to figure out which PT place to choose from the list of 19 that my insurance says I can go to. I should call my doctor and ask him where he would go.

I have just over a month before my race! WOW!! I can't believe it. Pray that whatever is going on with my legs God will heal them so I can run. New shoes will help, but His touched would be MUCH BETTER.

Here's a photo of the beauty of Cannon Beach (so named because a Cannon washed ashore there a long time ago in the 1800's). Enjoy.

Praise the Lord, oh my Soul, Let all that is within me Praise His Holy Name!

Wow, what a great discussion on Isaiah and the Holiness of God this morning!!!!! To conclude with a flyby of Handel's Messiah ending with the Hallelujah Chorus, and then to go into service today and start right off with "Majesty"! How do you not bow your knee and humble yourself before the ALMIGHTY MAGNIFICENT GOD OF THE UNIVERSE!!!!
And how sovereign of God to have Jim "jump the gun" on the announcements so we could just keep on worshipping!! I LOVE TO SEE HOW GOD WORKS!
Lord, YOU ARE AWESOME!!!! Thanks for letting us see a glimpse of you this morning.
Love you,
eryn

Running Journal ~ week 15

Yesterday I ran for 100 minutes and boy are my calves soar today! That ice bath is becoming more appealing by the minute. =0) I feel like I need to just sit and stretch those muscles all day today. It was not a really good run though. At first, my left legs started cramping like it used to do at the beginning. After a rest at the first water stop that seemed to go away, but my asthma was bothering me the whole time. I even used my inhaler twice and my controller before I left. I don't get it. What was triggering it??? Who knows. We ran from Wright Park, down 6th all the way to the freeway bridge at Pearl Street. The full marathoners kept going down Pearl to Point Defiance for a short 5 mile loop and then back to Wright Park. Anna, Carlie, Tesa, and I turned around 'cause we are all halfers (except Tesa who is running in Hawaii in December, so she is just starting her training). On the way back we "ran into" our coach, which was quite a helpful thing for me. She stuck with me and we figured out that a 3 and 1 interval for me does not give me enough time to recover because of my asthma. I need more time to breathe!, which is probably why my asthma has been bugging me so much when I run. I will try using that interval as I run this week. I was also plagued by gas in my abdomen pretty much the whole time, so apparently really yummy pizza is not good to eat before a run. Perhaps it was the granola and yogurt, and pb&j I ate that morning. I had never had that combo before, don't think I will again either. I usually have cereal in the morning. The granola and yogurt was okay, I'm pretty sure it was the extra sandwich that did me in.
I'm in my pattern of mileage increase, so next Saturday I think I get the privilege of running 120 minutes! Wow. I can't believe i only have seven weeks left till race day! I just made the hotel reservation tonight too. Things are coming together nicely.
Well, I feel like I am rambling, and my thoughts are coming way too slowly so that means it's time to sign off. good night all.

Running Journal

A friend of mine just gave me a check for $100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!! How cool is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Father for her generosity. It truly astounds me. Wow. Another name for my jersey. It's getting kind of crowded now. Sweet. Thank you Father for the generosity of everyone to help me reach my fundraising goal. And for their encouragement along the way. May I run in a manner worthy of them and You. Love you God. goodnight. eryn

Running Journal

I CONQUERED MOUNT KILIMANJARO TODAY!!!

Okay so it was only the Nisqually Hill, and it was more like a slow conquest; but it still felt like a victory to me. The never ending "mountain" wasn't too bad. I had planned to run the gauntlet twice, but I did not have enough time for that, so I only trekked it once. I walked from my house (with my dog) out to Martin Way, just past the Ridgeview neighborhood entrance and then decided we should run down as much of it as we could. We ran down the whole thing in about 5 1/2 minutes! FIVE AND A HALF MINUTES to run down a hill!!!! That's a long hill. Considering it takes forever in a car going 50-60 miles an hour...that's a looong hill. Perhaps the folks training for Nike should venture this way. I hear they have some pretty ugly hills to conquer on their course.
At the bottom I sucked down a triberry gu (for extra energy), gave my dog a rest, and started the long journey up. Running for about a minute (before my heart and lungs told me to start walking), I looked back and thought "Wow, I've made it about halfway up. Cool!" Still walking...and the hill just keeps going, so I thought "okay, I ran about 1/3 of the way. That's pretty good." I decided to run a little bit more (do you know how hard it is to start running in the middle of a hill!!!!???? Oy!). Ran for about 30-45 seconds, looked up and back and thought "ohkaeey...so running 1/4 of the hill is not too bad..right???" =0) I walked most of the rest of the way home with a few spurts of running, but I had this horrible cramp in the top of my left foot. Weird. It started on Saturday toward the end of my run that day too. I guess I just haven't worked it out yet. Can you believe that even after all that walking/running Jazz (the dog) still wanted to go down one of our customary streets as we passed by? It didn't take too much coaxing to get him by that street though. One blessed shower and a yummy lunch and i was human again, though not really wanting to go to work. A nap sounded better. =0)
I am taking it easy tomorrow, but next week I plan on tackling that monster again. Twice! It serves two purposes...training for the marathon, and training for Mount St. Helen's. If I can successfully do that latter, I should have no trouble with the former. Looking forward to both challenges. Wooohooooh!

picture of the day

I took this out in Orting 2 weeks ago. We saw several old cars go by, but this was the best one (I think).
enjoy.

Running Journal ~ week 14!!!!

Wow! I can't believe I have just about two months left to train for this crazy 1/2 marathon. After no practice last week due to the heat, Saturday's run of 6 miles was a bit of a challenge; but I ran with a friend and we passed the hour and a half nicely. I think it was the 8 hours on my feet afterwards that was truly unpleasant. My feet kept telling me to SIT DOWN every chance they could. That's hard to do when you work retail. Thankfully our receiver had been off for a few days, so in the evening I went to the back room and opened up all the boxes that were yet to be unloaded. My feet liked me a lot then. =0) Actually, it was more my calves and shins that were "dancing" with joy for those brief moments of rest.
Anyway, rested Sunday. Too many things to do before heading to Seattle for a wedding. Besides I didn't want to be all sweaty right before we left, though I doubt anyone would have noticed since we were all sweating quite nicely that day. =0)
Monday I briskly walked the dog. I just didn't have it in me to run that day. Cross trained yesterday at Karate; and today, set out for a proper run before heading off to church. I think that week off really took it's toll on me. I could not for the life of me keep my 3 and 1 interval I set for myself. Normally I can at least make half of them, but not today. It was more of a 2 and 2 kind of day. Perhaps tomorrow my body will remember what it's supposed to do. Mind over muscles right! Oh, tomorrow I plan on running up and down Nisqually Hill a few times, both in preparation for climbing Mt. St. Helen's Sept. 7th and cause my coach said to do hill work since I missed practice tonight. Granted she did tell me to pick a MODERATE hill to run up about 10 times, but I have been wanting to see if I can even do this hill a few times without passing out on the way up, so Nisqually it is. Just don't tell my coach how steep of a hill it is and all will be kosher. =)
Pray for strength in my knees, especially my left one. They have been giving me some trouble lately for some unknown reason.
Well, my eyelids are getting heavier by the second, so good night to all.
Enjoy the cooler weather. I know I am.
eryn